This invention relates to a distributed restoration algorithm (DRA) network, and more particularly to the communication of messages among the DRA nodes of the network during the DRA process.
In a telecommunications network provisioned with a distributed restoration algorithm (DRA), to restore traffic that has been disrupted due to a fault or malfunction at a given location thereof, messages required for the restoration process need to be sent to the various nodes of the network for locating alternate routes to reroute the disrupted traffic.
Prior to the instant invention, such communication of the restoration messages is effected on the spare channels, i.e. the spare links, that interconnect adjacent nodes. Such messages may include for example the flooding signature or restoration message sent by the sender node to the chooser node and the reverse restoration message sent by the chooser node to the sender node. Other messages that may be communicated among the various nodes include the keep alive messages disclosed in the aforenoted RIC-96-089 application, and messages such as path verification messages that maintain the integrity of the DRA network. In essence, the DRA messages are communicated in-band by way of the existing spare channels.
It has been found that the use of spare channels for transmitting in-band DRA messages is rather expensive. And as the network topology changes where new spares are introduced and old spares are removed or replaced, the transmitting of DRA messages through the spare channels becomes even more expensive and unwieldy.
There is therefore a need for a less expensive and yet more easily managed scheme for effecting communications among the various nodes of the DRA network.
To provide a less expensive and easier scheme to manage the transmission of various messages among the DRA nodes of the network, the instant invention provisions a communications network separate from the DRA network so that communications may be done out of band of the DRA network. Such separate communications network may be in the form of a wide area network (WAN).
In particular, each of the nodes of the network is provisioned with a communications module that is communicatively connected to the WAN. The communications module in turn is in communication with the processor of the node so that a message can be directly conveyed from a first node to a second node of the network. Since the cost of a WAN is less than providing such communication through the spare links which interconnect the nodes, not only are the messages transmitted more quickly between the nodes, such transmission of messages via the WAN is also less costly.
The operation support system (OSS) of the network, in addition to being communicatively connected to each of the plurality of interconnected nodes of the network for monitoring the respective operations of the interconnected nodes, is also communicatively connected to the WAN so as to monitor the operation of the WAN. Thus, insofar as the integrity of the WAN (as monitored by the OSS) is sound, DRA messages can be broadcast from one node to all other nodes of the network by way of the WAN, in less time and more efficiently than was done before. Messages other than restoration messages may likewise be more efficiently distributed (and in less time) by way of the WAN.
An objective of the present invention is therefore to effect the sending of signaling message to the nodes of a DRA network without the need to utilize the spare channels that interconnect the nodes of the network.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of an out of band signaling circuit that enables signal messages to be transmitted independent of the telecommunications network.
The above-mentioned objectives and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent and the invention itself will be best understood with reference to the following description of an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, which illustrates a DRA provisioned telecommunications network that has an out of band messaging circuit.